


Extreme Deep Invader

by shadowolfhunter



Category: Eureka (TV)
Genre: AI, Binary code, Language, M/M, but not really Ironman 'verse, ironman - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2020-10-11 07:35:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20542460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowolfhunter/pseuds/shadowolfhunter
Summary: What if Nathan Stark was so much more than a politically connected, tall handsome angry genius scientist in a very expensive suit?





	1. In the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [I_kill_Zombies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_kill_Zombies/gifts), [Candyoranges](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Candyoranges/gifts), [TarlanX (Tarlan)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/gifts).

> First off, can I say that I have absolutely not forgotten any of the previous fics, but part of my promise to myself (and several other people) was to spend the two weeks of my holiday writing every day.
> 
> Secondly, I am fascinated by the concept of binary as a language. Zeros and ones, and you can express yourself in code. As such, this story is kind of a test run for a story of my own.  
https://www.sciencefriday.com/educational-resources/write-your-name-in-binary-code/  
this is the link that I got my binary information from. I am no mathematician, and if I have got it wrong I apologise, but this is a work of fiction.
> 
> So, EDI or Eddy, is Nathan's creation (the name is taken from Stealth, so Dr Keith Orbit the scientist character from that movie has a couple of cameos in the story, sort of an apology), Eddy is AI, in fact, Eddy is Nathan's black BMW seven series. He talks. Like KITT from Knight Rider, but he doesn't transform (Eddy is something of a snob, and being a truck he feels is beneath him). And Eddy forms a relationship with Jack's house, S.A.R.A.H. There will be more binary in the story, and may be some other code as well, because that is another fascination of mine... There will be other nods to other films and series along the way.

“You know I don’t like this Nathan,” Tony said quietly, he had only recently managed to get past their convoluted past, he no longer had an uncle, but he did have a younger brother he knew he could trust, both of their trust issues notwithstanding.

Nathan snorted, fondly, it had meant a lot to him to find out that Tony wasn’t only prepared to accept him, he had put a lot of their difficult past behind him. Not that Nathan would admit it out loud, ever, but after everything that went down with his split from Allison, him heading to Washington, and Allison to Eureka, a job she had taken without even bothering to tell him, Nathan had needed a friend. A brother.

Tony had stepped up, and Nathan found himself folded into Stark Industries without even realising he had accepted the offer in the first place. 

“I’ll be fine.” he said. “I’ve got Edi to protect me.” He could almost hear his brother’s eye roll.

“Yes, you have Eddy. But have you considered what is going to happen if Allison finds out about Eddy… and your other activities.” Tony was worried. He really didn’t like Nathan going back to Eureka. Too much had happened. And a lot of things had changed over the last couple of years. It had been nearly three years since Nathan was last in Eureka, after his final clash with Allison. It might not have been Allison’s fault, too much was buried with Nathan, and Tony had told him that.

_It’s better that she doesn’t know_. Tony did have to agree with that. There was a great deal more at stake than Allison’s hurt feelings, keeping Callister under wraps had cost Nathan, keeping EDI under wraps was a whole different level.

“My other activities.” Nathan’s voice was a little smug, and Tony conceded that point too. To the world at large, Dr Nathan Stark, string of PhDs and Nobel Laureate, was a workaholic who rarely left his lab. It was really only Tony and a very, very few others who knew that his younger brother was an adrenaline junkie who liked to test out the effectiveness of his weapons and defence systems himself. In the cause of the greater good.

“Your other activities.” Tony knew he was labouring the point, in truth he was keeping the conversation going because he needed to hear his brother’s voice. This was the first time they had been separated for a while. He closed his eyes, and swallowed hard. Admitting that he cared came hard, but he did care. “Take care, Baby Brother.” he said.

Nathan did bristle a little at the term, even if it was of endearment. Like his older brother, Nathan had a hard time with intimacy and feelings. He could hear the tension in Tony’s voice and knew it was for him, and that touched deep inside Nathan’s fiercely guarded heart.

Instead of the sarcastic retort that bounced around his mind for a moment, he dropped his voice. “I will.” He paused, trying to get his voice under control. “Same to you.”

Tony cut the call, wishing that there was some way to stop this and bring his brother back to Stark Industries.

JARVIS

01010100 01101011 01100011 01110010 01100110 01101000 01101101 01000010 01000010

EDI  
01001001 01110111 01101100


	2. At Risk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nathan and Jack clash from the first...
> 
> Until Jason Anderson arrives, and the game gets much more deadly

Eddy 01001001 01101101 01000101 01100100 01100100 01111001

S.A.R.A.H 01001001 01101101 01010011 01000001 01010010 01000001 01001000  
01110111 01101100 01100011 01101101

“Nathan, I think we are going to like it here.”

Nathan sighed and rolled his eyes, “Eddy, you can stop using my brother’s voice.”

“I thought it would be more familiar, a sound of home.”

Home. Nathan swallowed. At one time he had thought of home as Eureka. Then it was wherever he was with Allison by his side, then….

Until his brother, and Stark Industries, and his AI work which had far surpassed even his own wildest imagination… and Callister. Nathan closed his eyes, secure in the knowledge that Eddy was handling the driving part of things, because the unexpected image of Callister Raynes was a painful wound that had never healed. A fact that Eddy knew.

As Eddy had developed and began to learn more and more, Nathan found himself trusting the AI, as he had with Callister. Accepting that his creation knew him, perhaps better than he did himself sometimes.

“Nathan.”

He took a deep breath. “Yes, Eddy.”

“I have made the acquaintance of another AI in this town. I recognise your signature, but the style is somewhat different.”

“S.A.R.A.H.” Nathan was aware that Douglas Fargo had based some of his work on Nathan’s original ground-breaking developments. He would never admit to anyone, but he was proud of Fargo’s adaptations, how far the younger man had taken it. “I am aware.”

“S.A.R.A.H has introduced herself. It seems that she is in charge of the dwelling space for a family called Carter.”

“Carter?” Shit. Nathan had a sinking feeling. “The Sheriff.”

He had met Carter. Nathan was used to getting his own way, used to command, used to going unquestioned. Jack Carter had proved that he was not going to jump to order, for any height or trajectory, he questioned, they clashed, and Nathan was drawn to the infuriating, fascinating man in a totally unexpected way.

He tried to avoid the turmoil of his feelings, while trying to woo Allison. It really wasn’t working. While he kept his eye on Allison, his heart was telling him that he could have something amazing with Carter.

So much was at stake, not the least Eddy, and Nathan’s “other activities”, such as his main mission in Eureka. Find the Consortium spy and shut them down. 

_“You’re the only one for the job.”_ He closed his eyes again. _Dammit._ Jack O’Neill had known that Nathan would take the bait, and he had. Carter was no fool, and he could read Nathan better than anyone Nathan had previously encountered, including his ex-wife.

None of this altered facts. Nathan was in Eureka to do two jobs. He had thought he was on his own, but Jack Carter was proving to be so much more than the Sheriff of the town. He might not have had a genius-level IQ, but he was intuitive, and whilst that could be Nathan’s undoing, it might also prove to be Nathan’s salvation.

He re-engaged with driving, and Eddy fell silent as they came up to Global Dynamics, Nathan pulled into his parking space. “Wish me luck.” He patted the dashboard as he exited Eddy. He had the feeling he was going to need luck.

Nathan had never really liked Jason Anderson, the man was far too smarmy and liked to ingratiate himself with everybody. But the man got results, and Nathan needed him to produce results. Mansfield was still breathing down Nathan’s neck and he hadn’t manage to dig any further into the identity of the consortium spy.

It was late. He was pretty certain he was the last one in the building. They had a field test in front of Mansfield scheduled for 0900 and for once Nathan had real confidence in the outcome. He had been in Eureka three weeks, he had yet to get any of his own work done, there seemed to be problems everywhere, nothing anyone could put a finger on, but it was clear that something was going on.

He stood gazing out over the rotunda floor, the massive picture windows which formed one side of his office both a blessing and something of a curse. He could see out, but unless he used the tint anyone could see him in the office. He was a scientist, certainty was a very big word, but Nathan preferred the element of surprise.

He was contemplating his next moves, his back to the room, when something made him feel as though he was not alone, he half turned, there was a blinding flash and something struck him on the back of the neck. He crumpled to the floor without a sound.

The perpetrator smiled, once the great Dr Nathan Stark was out of the way, they would be free to insert their own operative into the position of Head of Global Dynamics, and then Eureka would belong to the Consortium.

A pity, Dr Stark would have been an incredible asset to capture.

Nathan woke to pain, head pounding, dizzy and disorientated. He put a hand up to the back of his neck and winced, it was tender and hot to the touch, and when he drew his fingers away there was blood.

It took several attempts to push himself to his feet, his one thought was to get to Eddy. Somehow he managed to grab his briefcase and lock down his computer, leaving his jacket and coat, he made his way unsteadily to the exit, passing the security guards took more effort than it should, but he made it, Eddy opening the door for Nathan to get in. It was more of a partially controlled fall than a sit, nothing of Nathan’s usual grace of movement.

Eddy closed the door and started up, moving away from Global Dynamics. “Nathan, my sensors detect your heart rate is elevated.”

“Call Tony.” Nathan began to cough, slumping sideways in the driver’s seat. “Jack...” He passed out. Eddy speeded up heading for the Sheriff’s bunker.

Jack Carter stripped off his uniform, he was tired, it had been a very long day. Whatever the hell was going on, he was almost tempted to throw in the towel. It was beyond frustrating. He knew Anderson was up to something, but it proving impossible to prove to Stark that the man was up to no good.

Stark was driving him crazy. Jack truly did not know whether he wanted to kiss the man or kill him. From the moment he met the man, Jack had felt a surge of attraction that was most unwelcome. He tried to steer his attention back to Allison, she was beautiful, warm, lovely… but his heart beat faster every time he interacted with Nathan. 

He stepped into the shower. The warmth of the water did a lot to calm his jangling nerves.

He dried himself off, and dressed in sweats, wandered into the kitchen “Sarah, beer me.”

“Sheriff, Dr Stark is at the door and he needs your help.”


	3. Siblings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack has a couple of surprise visits and the plot thickens.

_“Sheriff, Dr Stark is at the door and he needs your help.”_

Jack looked up at the ceiling, grinning, “Sarah… C’mon, it isn’t April Fool’s”

“I’m sorry Sheriff, the matter is extremely urgent.” The AI actually sounded frightened and Jack’s instincts went into overdrive. He went to the door expecting Stark to be on the other side, he wasn’t, but Jack could hear the sound of a car’s engine idling, and ran up the stairs.

Stark’s black BMW was sitting in front of the bunker entrance, passenger door open, and Jack could see Stark slumped across the front seats. Jack crouched down and reached for a pulse with trembling fingers. Weak, but present, Jack was about to reach for his phone when a drawer slid open on the passenger side and a voice said, “Nathan has been poisoned, he needs you to give him the antidote.” Jack stared at the small device in the bottom of the drawer. This was Eureka, it was Dr Nathan Stark, the fact that a car was talking to him wasn’t even surprising anymore.

He looked down at Nathan, “what do I have to do?”

“You need to inject the serum into his abdomen.” The car replied. Jack picked up the device, it looked a little like an epipen, and Jack knew how to use one of those. He reached over, unbuttoned a couple of Nathan’s shirt buttons, pulled Nathan’s shirt out of his waistband, and pressed the injector against Nathan’s firm, flat abs. “Sorry.” he whispered, as the unconscious man twitched and flinched.

It wasn’t looking good, even if the antidote stopped the poison running through Nathan’s body, he was clearly seriously ill. Now that Jack had a moment to absorb the situation, he could see the fine tremors, the greyish tinge to Nathan’s normal healthy tan, his skin was chilled, and Jack quickly ran back into the bunker, grabbing the Zoe’s discarded comforter from the back of the couch, he returned, spreading the blanket over Nathan in an attempt to warm him up.

Nathan started to wake, groggily trying to push himself upright, “whoa Scientist,” Jack slid into the passenger seat, and helped the taller man sit upright. Head spinning, Nathan screwed his eyes closed and slumped against the driver’s seat, “take it easy.” Jack kept his hand on Nathan’s shoulder, part comfort, part physical assistance. “Let’s get you inside.” Not really certain if it was a good idea or not, Jack opted for action, because leaving Nathan in his car, unable to stretch out properly seemed a very bad idea.

Much, much later when Jack had the time he would wonder how he managed to get Nathan out of the car, on his feet and down the stairs. It was probably the most unnerving fifteen minutes of Jack's life to date. Nathan was in a bad way.

Jack helped the taller and heavier scientist negotiate the stairs into the bunker. Once inside he steered Nathan to the sofa helped him lie down and tried to make him comfortable. 

"Tony." Muttered Nathan squeezing his eyes closed tight, too nauseated to say more. He tried to tell Jack but the rush of nausea left him gasping and Jack laid a very gentle finger over Nathan's lips. "Rest Scientist. It can wait." Nathan closed his eyes again, so very tired, he started to lose himself in gentle fingers combing through his curls.

Jack had to admit he was scared, and that Nathan was more than an enemy or just another scientist. Even if he was the Head of Global Dynamics. That Jack felt a deep and abiding connection to the man Jack would have buried beneath a seam of denial so deep, miners could not have dug through to it.

Now Nathan was in serious trouble, and this had changed everything. Someone had tried to kill him, it was Jack’s job to make sure that didn’t happen, and Nathan was obviously trusting him to do it.

Having got Nathan as far as the couch, stretched out and covered with the comforter again, Jack turned to making the man more comfortable. He knelt down to remove Nathan’s shoes, then moved to loosen Nathan’s tie, pull it off gently, and undo a couple of buttons, Nathan’s skin was cold to the touch, and Jack went for another blanket.

He was just spreading it over Nathan when SARAH, who up to that point had been curiously silent suddenly announced, “Mr Stark is at the door, Sheriff.”

Which made little sense to Jack, he was just about to question her, when Nathan’s hand grabbed Jack’s forearm. “Tony” Nathan’s voice was weak, and his fingers were still trembling, Jack wasn’t about to deny the man what he wanted so he went to the door and opened it.

At first he thought it was a robot on the other side of the door, then the face plate flipped up, and suddenly certain things dropped into place. The vague sense that Jack had when he first met Nathan that he had seen him somewhere before, finally made sense. Jack tested the waters, “your brother’s very sick.”

Tony Stark actually looked a little surprised as he stepped past Jack into the bunker, Jack allowed himself a brief smile, getting one up on a Stark would have been a lot sweeter if Nathan wasn’t in such a bad way.

Tony got out of the suit, reached his brother’s side, “hey Baby Brother,” Nathan’s scowl was a pitiful shade of his usual glare “you seem to have gotten yourself into a nice mess.”  
Tony’s words seemed jovial, but Jack could hear the tension, “Jarvis, give me an update on his condition.”

Jack kind of assumed that Stark would have an earpiece or something. When Jarvis’ spoke in SARAH’s place, Jack shot a quick glance at the ceiling, “SARAH, I think we need to have a little chat about how much you know, and whether you have shared it with Fargo.” Jack was more concerned with Fargo’s safety than him sharing intel, Fargo might have been something of a gossip, but he was well aware of security and protocols.

As Jarvis’ rundown of Nathan’s condition didn’t sound life threatening as such, the antidote had clearly staved off the crisis, but he was still sick, Jack started to run through the possibilities and probabilities in his head. Until Nathan could give him an exact picture there were simply too many variables. Jack came back from his mental examination of the case in time to hear Nathan say something about the morning test.

“NO!” Jack snapped. Both Starks stared at him. Nathan’s glare was weak, but Tony’s expression showed speculative curiosity and not a little amusement.

Jack flushed but held his ground. This was Nathan’s life. They didn’t know who tried to kill him. They didn’t know enough about the likelihood of other attacks. Nathan couldn’t even stand unaided. He was in no condition to be overseeing a test.

“Jack, it’s a test.” Nathan sucked in a breath and tried to focus on the man. “All I really need to do is stand there.” He started to push himself to a sitting position. Trying to fake out his brother and the ever-watchful sheriff.

Using his name, rather than Sheriff or Carter, well that was dirty pool, and Jack was perfectly prepared to play that way. He nodded. This time he would not be subverted or bamboozled with science.

“Okay, Scientist, if that’s the way you want to play it. You can go to your test.” Despite how dreadful he was feeling, Nathan started to get that smug look he always got when things broke his way.

Tony just waited.

Jack lifted his chin. Steely look in his eyes. “Two conditions. First one, you can stand, unaided.” Nathan nodded, surprised at the depth of caring in Jack’s voice.

“And the other?”

“I am going as your bodyguard.” Jack said. “Not the Sheriff. Your bodyguard. That means I am going to be closer than your shadow.” Nathan looked like he was going to object, then Tony stepped in.

“Nathan, that’s an excellent idea.”

Nathan was about to hotly argue the point, but something in his brother’s expression changed his mind.

Jack continued, “In and out, back here afterwards. SARAH can monitor your condition.”

“I will have Jarvis stay on line to assist,” 

“I’m sure that car of yours can stay with us.” 

Tony smiled to himself. Jack Carter may not have been a genius, but he was tough and street smart, and clearly dedicated to Nathan. It was not above the Ironman to wish a little matchmaking on his younger brother.

Jack might be exactly what Nathan needed, someone to care for him because he was him, not because of his genius, his doctorates, degrees and even his looks.


End file.
